Please don't take this as Apple "hate" but if you want it to actually takes notes then I would get the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Writing on that is amazing and makes writing on the iPad with a stylus feel like a fat ass sharpie marker. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is extremely precise and has great software for note taking (S Note).

Please don't take this as Apple "hate" but if you want it to actually takes notes then I would get the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Writing on that is amazing and makes writing on the iPad with a stylus feel like a fat ass sharpie marker. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is extremely precise and has great software for note taking (S Note).

only for physics/chemistry a tablet would be better imo. (unless someone knows a good program to work with reaction equations/atom structures easy on a laptop)
however for the majority of school work it mostly boils down to walls of text, if the powerpoint from a presentation cannot be acquired from the digital database.
question then remains on what can one type/write notes the most accurate/fastest?

I got one and bought a keyboard case for it. I can take the iPad out of the case if I just want to hold it and easily slip it back in when need be. It's actually really nice. Plus there are apps that'll help with documents, powerpoints and even excel sheets. I would recommend it to any college student.

only for physics/chemistry a tablet would be better imo. (unless someone knows a good program to work with reaction equations/atom structures easy on a laptop)
however for the majority of school work it mostly boils down to walls of text, if the powerpoint from a presentation cannot be acquired from the digital database.
question then remains on what can one type/write notes the most accurate/fastest?

the advantage of an ipad / tablet is that you can write where ever you want on the document, draw on diagrams / pictures, etc. something that's not nearly as friendly when using a word processor as when using a pen/stylus

well first, the surface is not very good right now because there is no support for it really (in terms of apps, drivers, etc., etc.). i'm not saying the ipad is better than anything, i'm saying it's a very viable choice. it's just as viable as a galaxy, and if you're getting an actual tablet like those it all comes down to personal preference of OS

I have an android tablet was pretty cheap but it does the work. granted i don't do any math or phisics because my faculty is about something else. i wouldn't recommend a tablet for an enineering student mostly because you won't be able to write equations on tablet nor special math characters.
btw here's what i use for my tablet http://www.tabletshop.co.za/wp-conte...board_case.jpg also if you do want to buy an ipad/tablet you must realise you won't find all your books in pdf. i have half of my courses on tablet and the rest i had to borrow from collegues.

Not true at all. They've just had no actual purpose, except when used with photoshop. I'd take an x60t over most graphics tablets.
And when it comes down to taking notes- either of those devices will be better due to using a direct stylus imput rather than a capacitive imput with a stylus, and the surface having no software support is wrong - every piece of software made for windows can run on it, and the same goes for touchscreen/digitizer laptops, and they can also use the windows 8 store, which is far from empty. (Has most of your basics)

Personally, I wouldn't consider any kind of laptop/laptop replacement for school/university if it didn't have some form of video out for presentations. Because you will have to give presentations, and you'll need a computer with video out to connect to a beamer for that anyway.

I'm not so sure. The only advantage a tablet offers over a laptop with a word processor is the ability to draw diagrams. However, Surface might be a good middle ground. Get a tablet and a bluetooth keyboard for it. And you can get microsoft office on it. Boom.

I already mentioned it in the post you quoted... tablets offer significantly superior mobility as well as touch screen. When you're a student walking around all day, mobility makes a huge difference. Moreover, touchscreens are easier to access in a 'mobile' environment compared to flipping up a laptop and using the mousepad.

The only things a laptop/ultrabook offers is full OS features and keyboard.

Originally Posted by llDemonll

How do you prevent smearing when you rest your hand on the screen?

Originally Posted by Keller

Sure, but how is an iPad better than a tabletPC with a stylus? Say a thinkpad or dell convertable, the X60T /w 1400/1050 screen, for example?
Or even the surface pro with a keyboard, for that matter.

Originally Posted by mojo6912

How about one of those new laptops with the touch screen and you can fold it over so its like a tablet when you need it.

The major problem with the tablet/laptop hybrids is price. An iPad will run you $330-400 and Android tablets are even cheaper.

Compare that to the Surface @ $600 (with keyboard) or Surface Pro $900 and other Windows RT tablets at anywhere from $600-1200.

The only things a laptop/ultrabook offers is full OS features and keyboard.

And larger onboard storage, you can run any x64 or x86 application you already have a license for, you don't usually need to buy an adapter for external displays (the "lightning to HDMI" connector for the ipad mini and ipad 3 costs something stupid like 50 bucks), some of them have optical drives, you don't need to buy a cover for the screen, a mouse is still a more accurate pointing device than a finger-tip...

How do you prevent smearing when you rest your hand on the screen?

Good tablets have ways of recognising when your hand is resting on the screen, and not registering it as an "action".

and im sure you could get a used one for even cheaper, the current model that compares to mine is $729 on the apple store

Who cares what the current model is, and let alone which model you chose to purchase. This is coming from a college student so I am assuming funds are tight. I just wanted to prove(and you sorta are yourself with this used thing) that comparing a new one price wise to an ultrabook or one of those convertible laptop/tablets is laughable at best when it comes to touchscreen devices.

Who cares what the current model is, and let alone which model you chose to purchase. This is coming from a college student so I am assuming funds are tight. I just wanted to prove(and you sorta are yourself with this used thing) that comparing a new one price wise to an ultrabook or one of those convertible laptop/tablets is laughable at best when it comes to touchscreen devices.

accept that something like a Surface Pro is or a hybrid divice is still going to be much better for a student anyway, assuming that you are not buying a laptop, but then gain, last time i picked up my brother from CU, there were a ton of students running around with macbooks, so students must be doing much better these days

you can't judge how someone is going to buy something based on how you view things, you may consider it stupid to compare a used ipad2 base model to a new retina ipad top end, but i would consider it just as stupid to cheap out on a device you may have for the next few years